


The Underworld Is Nothing Without You

by wintersxsoul



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Greek and Roman Mythology, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Winter Soldier (Comics)
Genre: Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Has Issues, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Bucky Barnes as Hades, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Hurt Bucky Barnes, Love Confessions, Mythology References, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Sad with a Happy Ending, reader as persephone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-03
Updated: 2019-03-03
Packaged: 2019-11-08 19:53:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17987567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wintersxsoul/pseuds/wintersxsoul
Summary: A tragic lover that finally finds his queen.





	The Underworld Is Nothing Without You

_ "Persephone kisses the snow because she knows even the coldest things need love. She doesn’t know winter. Only that she is the reason for it."  _

Bucky shivered the first time he heard you read that quote to him. He couldn’t remember who wrote it or the real meaning for the author, but for him, it meant so much it hurt. He saw you as Persephone, the Spring Goddess  _ and  _ Queen of the Underworld. He, of course, saw himself as Hades, cruel and dark, the one that carried a huge burden of violence and sorrow. 

 

The first time you met James Buchanan Barnes, something in you awoke, even though you met him as The Winter Soldier. You couldn’t understand how a person with such angelical features could be so cold and merciless, but maybe that was his biggest weapon, those baby blue eyes could melt even the harsher heart. Steve told you everything about him, the way he had saved him in so many occasions, his warm laugh and the softness that those eyes held every time he looked at his best friend. It was impossible to understand how they could be the same person, coexisting with each other, but HYDRA took care of  _ that  _ side, turning him into a weapon, turning him into Hades.

 

Bucky spent months in a haze, the turmoil of memories and feelings that once belonged to him surging back. He felt so numb for years, hollow, being just a complying weapon that when Steve, all beaten up because of  _ him _ , fell into the Potomac something in him, a soft cracked voice, told him to jump. So he did. And that single action, that simple act of selflessness was what drove Steve to look for him, Sam and you following him.

That’s how you ended up, three years later, curled up next to Bucky on your bed. Throughout the trials you were there for him, helping him to escape his nightmares, soothing his fears, taking him to therapy and being everything Bucky had wanted all his life. You were an agent when you first met him but after the fall of SHIELD, Steve took you in, so now you were part of The Avengers.

“You’ve been silent for the past hour. What is going on?” You beamed at him, but he kept staring at the ceiling, like he had been doing the whole afternoon. 

“Buck, are the nightmares back?” He shook his head but never looked at you. You sighed, a bit exasperated, and sat on the bed. You were about to speak when he said in a low, soft voice “Why?”

You knew him too well to understand that simple question, but you wanted,  _ needed _ , him to say it aloud.

“Why  _ what _ , Bucky?” He looked at you and you almost gasped at the look in his eyes, he had been crying and you hadn’t noticed.

“Why didn’t you join the FBI like Sharon did?” He frowned.

“Because I wanted to be an Avenger, I wanted to be with my family.” You cupped his cheek with your hand and planted a small kiss on his lips. You loved him, you always had, but you knew that telling him might freak him out. He wasn’t ready.

“Tell me about Hades and Persephone again, please.” He smiled at you sweetly, making your insides churn. You leaned in and pressed your forehead to his, your eyes fluttered closed at the sensation of his breath ghosting your lips. He closed the distance, giving you a long sweet kiss, making you both gasp for air. He pulled you close to him, embracing you with his metal arm, cooling you down instantly. You cleared your thought and started to narrate the story you both knew by heart already.

_ “Persephone, the Goddess of Spring, enamored the God of Death and King of the Underworld, Hades. Overwhelmed by his feelings, he took her from her home to make her his Queen. It took time for Persephone to adjust to her new life, but eventually, she learned to love the Underworld and to love Hades as much as he did. Meanwhile, Persephone's mother, Demeter, the Goddess of Harvest, searched the earth for her daughter, only to find from Zeus that she was is in the Underworld, thus bringing Demeter into mourning and bringing winter upon the earth. Hearing this news from Hermes, Hades traced a plan: if anyone ate anything from the Underworld, they were bound to it, so Hades persuaded Persephone to eat some seeds from a pomegranate, therefore keeping her for four months of the year and the rest on Earth with her mother.  _

_   
_ “Don’t you see the resemblance?”

“No, why would I?” He would be lying if he said that question didn’t hurt him, but why would you see it? You couldn’t know he was in love with you, he never said it, but neither did you. You’d been dating only for a few months, so your feelings might be uncertain. Why would you love him?

“I...I don’t know. I just…I don’t know.” Bucky shook his head, cursing under his breath for being such a moron. You laced your fingers with his metal ones, and looked at his ocean eyes. 

“Buck, we are not them. You are not him.” You caressed his face with your fingertips, tracing his strong jaw and placing a strand of hair behind his ear. His gaze was warm, full of adoration and love, and before he could say it, you knew it.

“Y/n, I love you.” Before you could even react or say it back, he pulled you closer, his hands shaking on your skin.

“That’s why you should’ve left when you could.” He said with sorrow making his voice tremble. You stare at him for a few seconds, your gaze softening at the sight of him opening himself, raw and honest.

“ **I know, but you are the only reason I stayed** .” He stared at you wide eyed, not knowing if that was a good or a bad thing.

“I stayed because I love you more than anything, not because you forced me to do so. We are not them, and we will never be.”

“That means no one is coming to take you away from me?” He smiled fondly at you and squeezed your hand, trying to ground himself after your confession.

You laughed and shook your head in amusement, this man was going to be the death of you.

 

_ Persephone fell in love with the soft parts of Hades, the tenderness and love he showed her, the longing gazes and sweet kisses. She ended up understanding why he acted like he did, his past was his own, but not really. He was who he was because that’s how they made him. Hades was made to rule the Underworld, to take care of the lost souls that were stuck there for eternity.  _

_ Hades fell in love with Persephone for her ethereal soul, the beauty she had hidden beneath her but what he loved the most about her was her fearless attitude, her strong character. She might’ve been the Goddess of Spring but she was nothing like her flowers, she was meant for more, she was meant to be his queen. _

_ What myths will never know, is that it wasn’t Hades plan, it was hers all along. Persephone wanted to stay with her beloved, so she ate a few seeds of the pomegranate and told Hades what to do. She understood what Hades once told her: “The Underworld is nothing without you.” She understood because life without his love meant nothing to her anymore.  _


End file.
